Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide building dedication

The Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre (JHGC) recently opened to the media and honoured guests, including holocaust and genocide survivors, for the centre’s dedication ceremony on 1 September.

The centre is located just opposite the Westcliff Hotel on Jan Smuts Avenue and will be open to the public early next year.

“This has been my lifelong dream to bring the story of the holocaust and the genocide to South Africa as I myself am a daughter of a holocaust survivor. This museum is serving as a warning to the public of what can happen should democracy fail. We should safeguard our democracy. It is not just a museum, but a centre where a lot can be learnt; it is a centre of education,” commented centre director, Tali Nates.

The centre was built in partnership with the City of Johannesburg and the Johannesburg Property Company, among others.

Project manager for the centre, Lewis Levin, explained how the building was constructed and why certain architectural elements were added. “We spoke to survivors of both the holocaust and the Rwandan genocide to assist us with some tools of association for the building. They remembered images of trains and railway lines which were used to haul people to their death in Europe. In Africa, railways represented the colonialists which brought oppression. The centre has railway lines embedded in the walls which also recall trees that stood witness to the murders. Survivors were haunted by forests and the landscapes of death,” he added.

Veronica Phillips, who survived the ghetto in Budapest, gave her childhood doll to the museum to be used as one of the artefacts. She found the doll when she got back home after leaving the ghetto. Rwandan genocide survivor, Bonaventure Kageruka, also handed two artefacts to the centre which had belonged to his friend’s mother – a front door key and a rosary were found in her hand after she had been murdered during the genocide.

“This means a lot to the survivors. We will not be here for long and it is good to know there will be something to remember us and our families by,” said survivor of the holocaust, Irene Klass (84).

Professor Jonathan Jansen, vice chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State explained that the centre is of great importance as a lot can be learnt from it. He added that, as South Africans, we have to learn that it was not only this nation that felt pain, but there were also others who felt great pain.

Details: info@jhbholocaust.co.za